General Petraeus vs Koran-Burning Church

General David Petraeus, the architect of the war-turning Iraq
strategy, current chief of the Afghanistan effort, and four-star hero
of the American right, says the planned Koran-burning at a Florida
church will put American lives in danger. The burning, part of the conservative protest movement
against Muslim-Americans that began with Newt Gingrich and Sarah
Palin's push against the Cordoba Center, is planned by Florida pastor
Terry Jones. The Wall Street Journal's Julian Barnes and Matthew Rosenberg report:

KABUL—The
top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said the planned burning of Qurans on
Sept. 11 by a Florida church could put the lives of American troops in
danger and damage the war effort.

Gen. David Petraeus
said the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda
purposes, drumming up anger toward the U.S. and making it harder for
allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians.

"It
could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort," Gen.
Petraeus said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "It is
precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause
significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are
engaged with the Islamic community."

The Koran-burning
has received little attention in the U.S., where it is viewed as a
small fringe of the larger, but still troubling, anti-Muslim movement.
In Afghanistan, however, it is perceived to be more representative of
the American view of Islam.The Journal reports that "Hundreds of Afghans attended a demonstration in Kabul on Monday" in protest of the Koran-burning, thus giving the Taliban an opportunity to spread militant anti-Americanism in South Asia.